" will be remembered for his character, j.r. ewing. he was as charismatic as he was evil. he was one of the most colorful and villainous characters on television. j.r. ewing. >> you'll find other ways to skin a cat. >> reporter: when larry hagman took the role on, it was only supposed to last a few weeks. but "dallas" became a hit and part of television history. in his last sitdown interview with wfaa, hagman revealed -- >> i thought we would get six shows out of this and walk away and go on vacation. >> reporter: no vacation, as hagman's character, the mischievous oil tycoon and his antics made "dallas" one of the biggest hits in the '80s. and recently, hagman and his co-stars were reunited as the show was retooled for modern times. >> i hate to hit a man below the belt. but you know i will. >> reporter: he also made the cowboy hat cool to wear. hagman died last night due to complications from throat cancer. the family released a statement saying, larry's family and close friends had joined him in dallas for the thanksgiving holiday. when he passed, he was surrounded by loved ones.

j.r. >> j.r. ewing, one of the best known tv characteristics of the last 40 years. "dallas" was a long-running hit in the '70s and '80s. he came back as j.r. when the series was restarted earlier this year. you may also remember him as major tony nelson from "i dream of jeannie" his co-star barbara eden posted this on her facebook page. i had the pleasure of watching the texas tornado that was larry hagman. tick say we've lost not just a great actor, not a television icon but an element of pure americana. we'll have much more on his life and career later on in the hour. >> a gas leak blamed for an explosion at a strip club in springfield, massachusetts. look at the center screen. the blast leveled that club. 18 people were injured. it's a miracle no one was killed. 25 other buildings were damaged. our affiliate wggb says people felt that explosion up to four miles away. a city official says some of the damaged buildings will be demolished today. >>> law enforcement initials one community in alabama are mourning the loss of their colleague. following a shooting that involved two de

second bout with cancer. he played captain tony nelson on i dream of jeannie, but he played j.r. ewing in the long running series, dallas. he was filming season two on a new edition when he passed away. >>> just in after fighting for his for four days, hector macho ka macho died. his mother made the decision to take him off life support yesterday, but asked the doctor to leave him until his sons arrived in puerto rico to say goodbye. a friend shot he and a friend outside a liquor store. his friend was killed in the shooting. no arrests have been made. much more ahead coming up. a sign that christmas is just around the corner. the tree lighting going up in ghirardeli square in san francisco. >> here's a look at the morning as we look out across the bay. hazy skies and patchy fog inland, but very nice temperatures for the afternoon. the full saturday forecast is ahead when we come back. we . >> good morning, everyone. a quarter past 7:00 and hope you are having a terrific thanksgiving holiday long weekend. a live look out at the san francisco bay. if you are not a big fan of crowds and chao

. >> legend. >> hagman best known for his role of course as the villain j.r. ewing on his star with dallas. lost his battle with cancer dallas hospital. linda gray had this to say on the star's passing. larry hagman was my best friend for 35 years. he brought joy to everyone he knew. i will miss him enor muresly. >> she was at his side. >> he he was apparently surrounded by family and friends. >> hagman was the son of mary martin. he was also known for his role as major tony nelson in i dream of jeanne, of course, he was 81 years old. >> he never became hollywood. larry hagman remained dallas. he was from fort worth and he always will stand for dallas. what a legend. love that guy. >> check in with rick reichmuth and see what our weekend first alert forecast looks like. >> looking good. you worry about thanksgiving weekend for travelers getting home and maybe another storm at the end of it we made through the entire thing scot-free. it's cold. 13 degrees in minneapolis. the tenks have dropped off from where you were on wednesday. aside from that, no big storms. cold front eastern se

a dallas hospital after battling complications from cancer. his j.r. ewing course, of the tomorrow villain oil man on the long- running abc tv show and dallas was only part of his acting repertoire. but it guaranteed his legend in tv history. a season finale cliff hanger in the 1980 called who shot j.r. was fuelled by 350 million people in 57 countries. that actor was up more noble enough that hagman recently used his j.r. role on the new version of dallas. he was also on the '60s popular tv series i dream of jeannie and acted on broadway. hagman, the son of broadway actress mary martin was 81 years old. >> it did get crowded roughly 11,000 people have been in line. this was up from $9 and led a share a lot of the black friday wrapped up at dawn. there was drama at a victoria's secret store where people jammed in the doorway waiting for the store to open. off some of them were pushing and shoving. the door man pleaded for them to stay, and that she would not open the door to this simmer down. employees stated that the waffle iron cause riots. this mall the michigan a fight broke ou